- Musk says “safety is not the main goal” of Roadster project
- It will be “the best of the last human-driven cars”
- Roadster reveal is scheduled for April 1 this year
Elon Musk has publicly stated that the company is on track to unveil the next generation Roadster on April 1 (that’s right… April Fool’s Day) of this year, despite previous promises of a 2020 launch date, and then another one in 2023.
But nine-year delay aside, Musk appeared on the Moonshots podcast with Peter Diamandis recently, stating that “safety is not the main goal” of the project, reiterating the point by saying: “If you buy a Ferrari, safety is not the number one goal,” according to Teslarati.com.
Back-tracking slightly on those questionable comments, he then goes on to say that the company will “aspire not to kill anyone in this car” but that it will be “the best of the last human-driven cars,” ramming home the point that he still believes fully autonomous driving remains an important milestone for the company.
Just to recap, Musk has let slip some pretty wild claims about the next generation Roadster on numerous podcasts, including his time spent with Joe Rogan, where he alluded to the fact that it would be able to fly.
Other “crazy technology” includes the use of some kind of thruster to propel the electric sports car from 0-60mph in under one second – something that no other manufacturer has been able to get close to thus far.
A top speed of over 250mph was also promised, as was a frankly ridiculous 10,000Nm of torque on tap. That’s more than four times the amount the Rimac Nevera develops.
But to top it all off, the divisive CEO has also hinted that it could possibly fly for short periods of time, stating on the Joe Rogan podcast that he thinks his good friend and serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist and political activist, Peter Thiel, should be able to buy a flying car if he wants one.
Fool fuel
All of the talk about a sub-second 0-60mph dash, rocket thrusters and the ability to fly might seem absurd, but until April 1 rolls around, we simply won’t know if Elon is being serious or is merely throwing everyone off the scent, like he usually does.
Electrek pointed out at the end of last year that Tesla had filed a patent for a fan system that would reside in the side skirts of an upcoming vehicle.
This is not too dissimilar to the McMurtry Spéirling that uses a fan system to create a massive amount of downforce – so much so, it can drive upside-down and absolutely demolish track times.
Similarly, Musk has hinted that Tesla would take learnings from its SpaceX sister company, referring to the cold nitrogen gas altitude control system it uses. Whether or not a system like this would be incorporated into Roadster for acceleration or to, you know, actually fly is yet to be unveiled.
Alas, we will all have to wait until April 1 and likely sit through a bizarre live-cast event before we get any closer to discovering the truth.
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